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Rikuo, Confronting the Fangs of Kyūso
Summary In Ukiyoe Town's First District, a group of hosts from Club ChuChu celebrate their upcoming victory over the Nura Clan by devouring an unsuspecting female customer. Speaking with his boss, Kyūso states that it would have been easier to kill Rikuo, instead of forcing him to relinquish the title of Third Head. Kyūso's boss replies that the important thing to destroy is hope. At the Nura House, Karasu Tengu is in a panic over the letter Rikuo intends to send to the Nura Clan board members. Rikuo, convinced it is the only way to save Yura and Kana, desperately tries to convince Karasu Tengu to send out the letter. Suddenly, Nurarihyon enters with a cat yōkai to settle matters. After a brief glance over Rikuo's letter, Nurarihyon rips it to shreds. They begin arguing about the nature of yōkai and Rikuo having brought an onmyōji to the house, but are interrupted by the cat yōkai from before. He introduces himself as Ryōta Neko, the head of the Bakeneko Clan whose territory has been usurped by the Kyūso Clan, and begs Rikuo to save the First District. When Rikuo shouts that he can't do anything due to being human, Ryōta Neko tells him that Kyūso won't keep his word and Nurarihyon ponders as to why the Kyūso Clan hasn't been expelled yet. As Rikuo races out of the room, still shouting about his own weakness, he sees a flash of memory and feels his blood grow hot. His yōkai self speaks from the sakura tree in the yard, and Rikuo recognizes him as the figure from the previous night's dream. The figure leaps from the tree, switching places with the "day" Rikuo, and his awakened yōkai form tells Karasu Tengu to call the everyone together to go rat hunting. Meanwhile, Yura and Kana awaken inside a massive cage and Kyūso smugly informs them that they will die if the Third doesn't comply with his orders. Yura, confused and frustrated, demands to be released and one of Kyūso's subordinates rips open her shirt while laughing over how powerless she is without her shikigami. As it reaches the designated time, the Kyūso Clan closes in on the girls with the intent to eat them, regardless of Rikuo showing up or not. Before they can lay a hand on their captives, however, a fog rolls in from the doorway to reveal the presence of a Hyakki Yakō with Rikuo's "night" form at the helm. The Kyūso Clan is startled, and Yura realizes that the Hyakki Yakō's leader must be the Nurarihyon she's been seeking. Upon learning that Rikuo didn't send out the letter, Kyūso declares that the girls will die - but they are rescued by Aotabō and Kubinashi. A battle ensues between the Kyūso Clan and the Nura Clan forces, and Kyūso learns that the figure leading the Hyakki Yakō is Rikuo's awakened form. Frustrated, he morphs into a giant grotesque rat and launches an attack, but is burned to ash by Rikuo's Ougi Meikyō Shisui, "Sakura" technique. On the rooftop of a nearby building in the shopping district, three shadowed figures watch with discontent. A yōkai smoking a pipe mentions that it was a good idea to use a group that had already been expelled, as it couldn't be traced back to them. He asks agreement of another figure named Gyūki - the one Kyūso had called "boss." Below, in the empty street, Yura recalls her parting words with the Hyakki Yakō's leader and decides that she has to train harder. The following morning, a frustrated Zen storms through the Nura house, demanding to know why he wasn't informed of the events from the night before. As shouts ring through the building of Zen having another bloody coughing fit, Rikuo sleeps. Category:Chapters